Vladimir Bartol drew inspiration for Alamut, which was first published in 1938, from the assassination of Alexander I, king of Yugoslavia. Alexander was killed in 1934 by Balkan nationalists reportedly commissioned by agents of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who sought to conquer Yugoslavia. Bartol was also influenced by reports of ethnically motivated attacks on Slovenians by Italian fascists in Trieste, his hometown. Bartol used allegory in Alamut to critique the rising fascist movements of his era.
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